Hunt Me
by Corsets and Guns
Summary: Cliched start with a road trip. Three girls are hunted by the Creeper. They rescue one of his other victims, a girl called Lila, and set off in his stolen truck to try and get to their homes in Pertwilla before he catches them... rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

You want to blame someone for this fanfic? Blame Nirvana and their God-fantastic song 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Small notes: I love reviews, but DON'T for the love of God flame me, because I take it personally and will probably lash back at you and start a several week argument. It's happened before.

Part One

It was the perfect night for a drive.

They had picked Ben up in Daytona, where he had allegedly spent the week surfing with his rich city friends after being dropped off in his father's plane. Marisa and Alison had shared a grin at this, but Louise ignored them and marched toward the car with her arm tightly around Ben's toned waist.

'Surfing... sun, sea and screwing more like.' Alison muttered, rolling her eyes as Louise and Ben got into the back of the car and started making out.

'Lets go, Al.' Marisa stretched, took one look at the sunny Daytona landscape and got into the drivers seat.

They had been driving for somewhere close to three hours since their last stop in a roadside diner, and it was lucky for them all that Louise and Ben didn't get tired of making out. Alison didn't have a good temper at the best of times, but when it came to Ben she could just flip at the smallest thing. At that moment, though, they both seemed content - he kissing Louise and she sat with the window open, her booted feet on the dashboard and rock music blasting into her ears.

Marisa glanced to her left at the fields they were passing. Poho County had always seemed so... peaceful... to her, just a couple of sleepy towns and lots and lots of fields. Everyone knew each other and everyone was always happy to help a traveller.

'I'd say about fifteen minutes until we reach Pertwilla.'

She didn't know why she broke the silence, but for some reason she had felt uneasy. She had never driven through Poho at night, and it seemed different to her... unfamiliar and scary. As though the shadows in the crops shielded some monster from view that was watching them, biding it's time.

'Scared, M?'

Alison had turned her music off and was watching Marisa with her usual roguish grin.

'Scared of what?' Aw cripes... wrong thing to say. She just _knew_ that Alison was going to come out with some shit-scary story to creep the hell out of them all about missing people or cannibals.

'Serial killers.' God, that was a new one. 'I'm serious...' Like hell she was, Alison would say anything and everything to try and provoke a reaction out of people. 'There are so many missing people out here you wouldn't believe. It's uncanny, and I'm not bullshitting.'

'Well if I see a serial killer I'll run him over.'

Her voice was calm but Alison had, once again, managed to creep Marisa out. This time it wasn't because Alison had gone into gory and unnecessarily graphic detail about what was hiding in the dark, this time it was because Marisa knew it was true. She had been researching missing people for a school project earlier in the summer, and had found just how many people vanished without a trace every month.

'Dude, check this bozo out.' Ben chuckled, interrupting her thoughts.

The three girls followed the direction he was pointing to a large truck parked at the side of the road up ahead. It was a hideous looking thing; huge and covered in so much filth and rust that they could only hazard a guess as to what colour it was supposed to be. The driver didn't look much better; dressed in a long brown coat and wide-brimmed hat, standing at the back of his truck holding one door open.

'Sweet ride!' Alison yelled, leaning out slightly as they sped past. The wind ruffled her short hair and she sat back in her seat, grinning from ear to ear at the whoops of laughter and applause coming from Ben behind her. She knew that it would drive Louise mad. Marisa realised that was probably the only reason she'd done it - to provoke an argument from someone.

'Dude, he looked like a serial killer.' Ben chuckled. Louise nodded in agreement, scowling at the back of Alison's chair.

Rolling her eyes, Marisa glanced in the wing mirror and did a double take. The truck was following them, and what was worse, was that it was catching up with abominable speed.

'What the-'

It smashed into the back of the Corvette, throwing everyone forward. Marisa's head connected painfully with the steering wheel and she heard several curses from Alison.

'What the fucking hell is he doing!' Ben yelled. 'Stupid mother fucker!'

The truck's horn blared, sounding more like a foghorn. Louise shrieked and grabbed Ben's arm as the vehicle crashed into them again.

'Get out of his way!' She screamed.

'We're not _in_ his way you stupid idiot!' Alison snapped back, swivelling in her seat and leaning out of the window again. 'What the hell is the matter with you!'

The truck's reply was to slow down and ram them once more. Alison was slammed into the dashboard, Louise and Ben seemed to be tumbling around helplessly in the back and Marisa only just managed to save herself from hitting the wheel again.

'This is _your_ fault! You shouldn't have shouted at him!' Ben yelled hysterically. 'He's gonna fucking kill us with that goddamn truck! I can't die; I'm due to inherit my father's company in six months!'

'Oh shutup whining you big girl.'

Alison rolled her eyes at Marisa. 'Men are supposed to stay brave in these situations, aren't they?'

The truck swerved past them and sped up, only slowing when it was on a level with the Corvette. Louise backed away from it and Marisa glanced past Alison at the truck door. The windows were blacked out but she could just see the outline of the driver's wide-brimmed hat through it.

'Asshole!' Louise yelled, leaning back against Ben. 'You shouldn't be allowed on the fucking roads!'

'That's not helping, genius.' Alison snarled. 'Shut the hell up.'

Marisa tore her eyes away from the truck window and concentrated on the road ahead. If the truck was going to ram them off the road, and she had the strong feeling that it was, then all they would hit was a weak fence and some fields. So why bother...?

The driver obviously didn't care about what they were going to hit, because it _did_ ram them. Alison tucked her arms and legs in to avoid them being crushed, Louise shrieked and Marisa tried desperately to keep the car under control. But no matter how much she spun the wheel the car just _didn't_ want to obey her.

'Just drive into the fucking fields!'

That sounded like Ben. Biting her lip and glancing constantly from the road to the truck to see what it was doing, Marisa jerked the wheel to the left. But it wasn't fast enough.

The truck driver, seemingly anticipating her move, did exactly the same thing, and his bumper connected with the side of the Corvette before she could move it. Then, before she knew what was happening, the car tilted sideways and they were rolling.

Louise was screaming, Alison was clutching the seatbelt to avoid being thrown about and all Marisa could do was clamp her eyes tightly shut and hope nothing crushed her. And then it stopped.

The car came to a halt in the field, upside down.

Louise was the first to release her seatbelt, landing with a thud on the metal car ceiling.

'God that hurt.'

Ben dropped next, before the two of them moving to help Marisa onto the floor. Alison let herself down and, with a loud and vehement curse, examined the damage to her music system.

'What a fucking _prick_.'

'Let's just get out of the car.' Marisa sighed, moving toward the window. It was open and fortunately the frame hadn't collapsed yet - providing them with about a foot of room to squeeze out of. Alison, being thin and athletic, pulled herself out easily. Marisa had a little more trouble but Alison simply walked around the car wreck and dragged her out by the arms.

'Marisa.'

She had been about to help Louise pull Ben out, but Alison had nudged her gently. Marisa turned to find her staring steadily at the road and turned to follow her gaze. The truck was parked at the side and the door was open, revealing an empty drivers seat.

'Where do you think he is?' Louise asked quietly, letting Ben go and joining them. Her boyfriend was now hanging half in, half out of the window, but couldn't seem to complain while looking at their opposing vehicle.

'Fuck knows...'

Something whooshed overhead, creating a small draft and ruffling their hair. Marisa stared at the truck, entranced for a few more moments before noticing what lay on the bench-like seat...

'Oh my god...'

It was the hat, coat and boots they had seen the driver wearing. There was even a pair of dark trousers folded up beside them.

'Think he's walking about in the nude?' Alison seemed to find the situation hysterical.

'This is _not funny_, Alison!' Louise snapped, turning away from the truck. Her scream almost deafened Marisa. She spun around and had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop herself shrieking too at what she saw...

The Corvette. Ben.

He wasn't there. The bottom of the car had been torn off by something stronger than a crane and Ben was gone.

'Ben! Ben!' Louise started for the car, screaming madly, but Alison grabbed her arm. 'What the fuck are you doing! Let me go!'

'C'mon.' Alison said decisively, pushing Marisa back toward the road. 'I said come on!'

'Where... oh no... no way, Alison!' Comprehension dawned on Marisa as her friend started pulling Louise toward the open door of the truck. 'Alison, that's _theft_!'

'You want to stay here! Feel free.'

'Bu... Alison... we...'

Looking around miserably, Marisa finally started jogging after her two friends, hoping to God that whoever had taken Ben was far, far away from them.

Alison stood back to allow them to clamber in before her - apparently she intended to drive.

'Um... I'm not so sure that's such a good idea...' Marisa said, arching an eyebrow. Alison had a reputation for driving rather... recklessly. 'I think you're more likely to kill us than he is.'

'Ben... we can't just leave him.' Louise sobbed. 'He could have just been just behind us. What if he'd screaming for us and we can't hear him...'

Marisa and Alison glanced at each other, before the former climbed up into the truck and reached down to heave Alison up beside her.

'This thing is _weird_.'

She wasn't lying - the controls on the vehicle were unlike anything Marisa had ever driven. Before she had time to contemplate it a wall of scent hit her and she almost gagged.

'_Shit_! What the _fuck_ is _that_!' Alison yelled, covering her nose and mouth with the neck of her shirt. 'Jesus!'

'Look!' Louise shrieked, jabbing her finger past Alison, to the wreck of the Corvette. Marisa turned and her mouth dropped.

Something was stood on top of the car, watching them and holding the crumpled body of Ben in one hand. Marisa ran her eyes over it and tried to figure out what in God's name it could be, but she had never seen anything quite as horrifying. It was humanoid, but its skin looked dark grey and reptilian. Instead of hands and feet it had talon-like claws. A spattering of uneven grey hairs covered its chest and the back of its head, bare with the absence of the hat on the floor in front of Marisa.

Possibly the most disturbing thing about it were the two wings protruding from its back. They were _huge_ - they could easily have wrapped around the Corvette - and bat like; skin stretched over long black spines.

'Drive...' Louise's petrified whisper jolted Marisa back into the real world. 'Drive... Alison... for Christ's sake _drive_!' She screamed the last word and Alison jumped into action, slamming the door shut and gunning the engine. It roared to life and they skidded onto the road, Louise screaming insanely and clutching Marisa's arm.

Alison was barely able to keep the vehicle under control.

'Look out the back and see if he's following us.' She yelled over the noise of the tremendous engine. Marisa turned around but the back of the truck was dark and the windows in the doors had been blacked out.

'Louise - look out of the window.'

'No fucking way!'

Sighing, Marisa turned to Alison and warned her to keep the truck steady. Then she leaned past Louise and rolled down the window, gasping at the sudden blast of cold air.

'Hurry up!' Alison yelled, grinning innocently when Marisa turned to glare at her.

Marisa placed both hands firmly on the window frame and pulled her upper torso out, turning her head so that she had a good view of the side of the truck. At first she couldn't see anything but the jerking vehicle and the corn fields. Then it swooped into view - flying after them at a speed that made her nauseous.

'Floor it, Alison!' She shrieked, sitting back and rolling the window back up. 'It's flying after us... fast.'

'Fuck!'

Alison pressed her foot down harder and the truck sped up. The fields were now passing them so quickly they were merely a blur, and it hurt Marisa's eyes to try and focus on them. Whatever the thing chasing them was, it had done something major to its ride.

'Nothing this fast can be legal!' Alison muttered, her voice barely heard over the engine. 'How the hell did he do this!'

'I don't care how fast the damned thing goes, it isn't fast enough!' Louise didn't seem to be able to lower her voice below a scream, and Marisa could blame her.

Something slammed ominously onto the truck roof above them, causing the vehicle to shudder worryingly. Louise started sobbing uncontrollably and sank down in the seat, shaking hands covering her face.

'Shit... tell me that wasn't...'

Marisa couldn't even finish her sentence. In a blur of wings and grey skin, whatever was after them was crouching on the bonnet and leering in at them - surprisingly stable for the speed they were going. Louise took one look at it and passed out. Marisa and Alison both seemed unable to move, the latter only pausing to move the truck up a gear.

The creature leaned forward and looked directly into Marisa's eyes, unblinking. Then it inhaled deeply, as though it was _smelling_ her... further proving the theory by opening a smaller 'nostril' on the bridge of its nose and inhaling again. It frowned and moved onto Louise. Marisa couldn't seem to tear her eyes from its face, studying the expression. It looked like it liked the smell of Louise... a lot. So much so that it _licked_ the window and, grinning, slid across to crouch in front of Alison.

'Oh, that's great, just block my view of the pissing road why don't you...'

'It's a straight road, Al; you don't need to see anything.' Marisa trembled. 'Just keep your foot down.'

It was sniffing again. An expression flickered across its face - confusion, perhaps? - and it shifted its position so it was kneeling.

'Tell me it's not making itself comfortable.'

It was. Its wings shot out, barring any of them a view of the road, and a grin spread across its face to reveal lots of razor-pointed teeth. At that moment it dawned on Marisa what it was doing.

'It's challenging us.' She murmured. Alison turned to her, arching an eyebrow.

'It's doing what, sorry?'

'Challenging us. It's blocked our view of the road and it wants to know whether or not we'll keep going with the threat of hitting something.'

Marisa fell silent and waited. She knew that what they did wasn't her decision to make - Alison was sat at the wheel and the creature had carefully placed itself in front of her.

'What do you think it wants us to do?'

'I think... I think its testing us.'

'And if we rise to the bait?'

'Don't know. Could go either way.' Marisa shrugged.

'So what if I stop, send it flying and set off again?'

'It can catch up to us - it'll either do it again or kill us.'

That apparently wasn't what Alison wanted to hear. The monster was still looking directly into her eyes, even though she had relocated her gaze to other areas of the truck several times. 'This bites ass.'

'Hmm.' Marisa bit her lip.

The thunderous blare of another horn hit their ears and the creature's grin widened. Marisa glanced across at Alison, whose face was set determinedly. 'Al?'

'Small car. If they don't get out of the way we'll crush them.'

She had a murderous glint in her eye that Marisa wasn't sure she liked. No-one challenged Alison and got away with it, but Marisa would have thought the situation would have changed when it was a _monster_ that challenged her. Evidently not.

A small car swerved off the road on Marisa's side, the driver screaming profanities and vulgarities at them as they sped on.

'You'd think they'd know to get out of the way when they see a great big...' Alison waved a frustrated hand at the creature. 'Whatever on the hood, wouldn't you?'

Marisa was spared answer by the 'whatever on the hood' shifting position until it was opposite Louise, who still hadn't recovered yet. It drew back a fist and lunged forward, one hand shattering through the glass and taking hold on Louise's neck. Marisa shrieked and went to grab her friend, but it had already yanked her through the window and out onto the bonnet with it.

'Shit! Grab her, Marisa!' Alison shouted.

Marisa was frozen to the spot, eyes glued to the creature. It had buried its face in Louise's stomach and seemed to be intently sniffing her again. 'What the hell is it _doing_!'

'How the fuck should I know! Here, grab the wheel and keep it steady.' Marisa slid over and took hold of the steering wheel, wincing as Alison vaulted her legs and knelt in front of the creature. She jumped up so she was half-sitting with it on the bonnet and launched her fist.

Marisa couldn't watch, but from what she heard, Alison's fist connected with the creature and threw it off balance, so she could then drag their bloody friend back into the truck. Louise had evidently woken up as her pained screams were slamming at Marisa's eardrums - matched only by the furious roar from the monster.

'Hit the brakes!' Alison snarled. She didn't wait for Marisa to do so and instead almost crushed her foot by doing so herself.

The creature was, yet again, thrown off balance and tumbled over the front of the truck. Marisa didn't need encouragement from Alison this time; she threw the vehicle into gear and floored the accelerator, jerking them over the damned thing.

'Shit.'

Knuckles white and shaking on the wheel, she sat back and blew her fringe out of her eyes. 'Jesus... you okay, Louise?'

'Nope, she isn't.' Alison replied. Marisa turned to look at her friend and gasped audibly. The creature had started to take a bite out of her abdomen, tearing the flesh and causing a significant amount of bleeding. Louise had stopped screaming but she looked like she was going to vomit - her eyes were wide and she was shaking uncontrollably.

'Oh my god... what the hell was it _doing_!'

'Wild stab in the dark - eat her?' Alison shrugged, coaxing Louise out of her jacket and attempting to stop the bleeding with it. 'Think we killed it?'

'I hope so.'

They continued driving down the highway in silence. Marisa was mildly surprised that Alison didn't drag up the old legend about the two high school kids that went missing on the road - one of whom lost her head, as she normally did, but perhaps she knew how inappropriate it would be. Kenny and Darla... that was their names... Kenny and Darla.

'Thinking about Kenny and Darla?' Marisa glanced across at Alison, who was grinning at her. 'It was written all over your face. And we're about to pass that old church. Remember Darry and Trisha? We were in the diner when they came in, yelling about it. Guess they weren't as mad as we thought...'

'Shutup, Alison.'

'Fine, fine. Reckon he's really got bodies down there?'

Something moved behind them and Marisa almost passed out. 'What the fuck was that?' She whispered in terror. The moving continued, followed by a weak moan. 'Alison!'

'Alright, alright... give me your flashlight.'

'I think I left it in the car... no wait, it's here.' Marisa retrieved the flashlight from the inside of her jacket and handed it to Alison, who shone it over the back of the seat. She was silent for a few seconds before;

'Oh God... that is _sick_.'

'What is it?' Marisa swivelled in her seat and looked into the circle of light the torch had created. The sight that met her eyes made their current situation a shit lot worse.

Bodies. Lots of them. Some were wrapped in stained white sheets, others just strewn messily about the back of the van. One was even tied to the side.

Blood was everywhere - leaking in streams from the holes or bites in each of the corpses; some of them were even missing arms and legs. Even Alison didn't seem able to take that much gore - she turned back around and stared out of the window, face white.

'So what moved? Do you think one of them is... alive?' Marisa stammered. She knew it was wrong but she hoped to God that one wasn't... hoped that they were all long since dead. 'Al... you're gonna have to have a look.'

'No fucking way!' Alison snapped immediately.

'We can't just leave them to die if one's alive!'

'Bullshit we can't! We'll drive the truck into Pertwilla and the cops can find the live one.'

'What if they are dying in their?' Marisa reasoned. She knew what was coming, but it still sent a bolt of shock through her spine when it did.

'Fine. You look.'

Dropping the flashlight on the seat, Alison slid across and firmly took hold of the wheel. Marisa sat frozen for a minute. 'No? I didn't think so.'

'Fine, I will.'

Alison looked at her, surprised. 'Marisa...'

'There could be someone alive in there, Alison! How would you like it if it were _you_ in there, and someone just left you for dead?' Marisa grabbed the light and swung one leg over the back of the seat, standing on a clear piece of metal.

'But that's the point, it _isn't_ me.' Alison muttered, moving over and slowing the truck down slightly. 'Okay... I'll try to keep it steady.'

'Why?'

'Oh, you want to fall onto a bloody corpse, do you?'

Grimacing, Marisa stepped down and crouched. 'Hey? Is there anyone alive in here? Can you hear me?' Alison snorted but it went ignored. 'If there's anyone alive, just say something and-' something groaned, toward the back of the truck. Typical. Now she had to wade through more bodies. 'Okay... can you move?'

Evidently they could, because one of the bodies wrapped in a sheet shifted.

'Okay, I see you...' Marisa stepped quickly past the other corpses, wincing whenever she unintentionally stepped on one, until she was knelt beside the living one. Setting the flashlight down beside her, she laid a hand on the edge of the sheet and started pulling it back, praying that she wasn't about to see something worse than what she was standing in.

'Found them?' Alison called, glancing back. Marisa didn't reply, she merely pulled back the last layer of sheet over the body's face.

It was a girl, perhaps their age. She was pale and drawn, and her lips were blue, but she still had a glint of life in her brown eye. Eye... Marisa swallowed nauseously. Where her left eye should have been was an empty, and very bloody, socket.

'Jesus...'

'Help... me...' The girl croaked, struggling weakly with the sheet bound around her. 'I can make it... but it hurts...'

'Okay... Alison! Stop the fucking truck and get back here.' Marisa yelled over her shoulder. 'And don't argue!' Closing her mouth again, Alison stopped the vehicle and, muttering under her breath, joined them at the back.

'Fucking hell, that must hurt.' She winced, pulling a face at the sight of the girl's missing eye.

'No... shit...'

Marisa chuckled lightly. This girl had had her eye ripped out and was lying amongst a truck filled with corpses, yet she still managed to retain a sense of humour.

'What's your name?' Marisa asked, fumbling with the ropes binding the girl.

'Lila... Smith... you?'

'I'm Marisa, this is Alison and there's a girl bleeding in the front of the truck called Louise. We were on our way back from picking her boyfriend, Ben, up from Daytona when this thing rammed us off the road.' Marisa explained, freeing the girl and helping her into a sitting position. The creature had removed her clothes but this was hardly the time to be bashful about it. Alison turned around and pulled a long wool coat off a dead woman.

'This should keep you warm enough.' She grinned, handing it to Lila. 'Even if it _does_ have a little blood here and there.'

'Thanks.'

'Go start the engine, Al.' Marisa ordered, placing one of Lila's arms around her shoulders and helping her up. 'So how long ago did-'

'Um... Marisa.'

The two girls looked up to Alison, who was stood by the steering wheel with a dangerously pale face.

'What's up?' Marisa asked, worriedly.

'Louise has gone and there's blood on the bonnet.'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The church hasn't burnt down, although Darry _was_ taken ages ago. I haven't figured out how I'm going to keep the Creeper alive for more than twenty three days yet... ideas?

Part Two

_They smelt different. Strange. Unlike the other human with them, sat in the middle and pretending to be unconscious to save herself. Pathetic. _

_No, the other two weren't different. The one with the short hair... she was brave. Too brave, when faced with him. She had continued driving when she couldn't see the road. _

_He had tried that little challenge on quite a few humans, and although many of them had chosen to continue driving, they swerved and screamed in an attempt to jerk him off. She simply tried to outstare him. _

_And the other one. Her bravery wasn't as obvious at first, but she wasn't afraid of him. At least, not as much as others. But she smelt somehow... _familiar_ to him, like they had met before. But of course they hadn't. _

_Strange smelling humans. This could turn out to be more of an interesting hunt than he had previously anticipated. _

'What do you mean she's _gone_!'

Marisa, with a sudden burst of strength, heaved Lila forward and looked toward where Louise had previously been. A spatter of dark blood was splashed across the fading leather seat and the denim jacket had been left behind, strewn on the truck floor.

'I mean s.h.e.s g.o.n.e.' Alison said, spelling it out. 'Vanished. No-longer here. Kaput. Finite... getting through yet?'

'Shit. _Shit_! Drive, Alison!'

Marisa hauled Lila onto the front seat and vaulted the back to sit beside her. Alison plunged the truck into gear and hit the accelerator, throwing them all backward as the vehicle lunged forward.

'He'll kill us all...' Lila whispered, scrunching up into a ball and staring at the passing landscape. 'It's what he does.'

'What _is_ he?'

'They call him the Creeper. It's all to do with the song Jeepers Creepers-'

'Hey, Shaun did a remix of that song once, it was so cool.' Alison interrupted, grinning. 'Wicked.'

'- and he eats humans.' Lila continued as though she hadn't heard her. 'He sniffs them to find out what he wants, and then he hunts them down and eats them.'

'Ew...'

'So _that's_ why it was sniffing us...' Marisa said slowly, biting her lip.

They drove for fifteen minutes straight before they reached the church.

'I'm telling you, someone could live there. Maybe they'll have a _phone_.' Marisa argued. Lila didn't know anything about the place, so she just sat back and listened to them yell at each other.

'Phone? _Phone_! I'd be surprised if that flipping Creeper himself doesn't live there! Rednecks, Marisa. Rednecks with shotguns and whiskey.' Alison snapped, flooring the accelerator again. 'I am _not_ stopping here.'

'But what if there's no-one there? Then what harm would it have done to have a look?'

'Didn't you hear what Darry and Trisha were bawling about? They were talking about _this church._ This church, Marisa! This one right here!'

'Darry and Trisha were insane, Al. The cops came out here and couldn't find anything.'

'Did they check the basement?'

Silence fell as Alison looked pointedly at her friend.

'You can stay in the car.' Marisa offered. 'Just pull over so that I can check for a phone. It's another hour until we get to Pertwilla.'

'_Hour_! It was fifteen minutes before this prick ran us off the road!'

'We've been going in the wrong direction! We took the long was round while that thing was on the front of the truck. There should have been a turning but we missed it, and now it's going to take us longer.'

'Shit.'

'Exactly, now pull over.'

Looking as though she would much rather continue on to Pertwilla, Alison slowed the vehicle and came to a halt beside the old church.

It was a small, white, wooden ruin, shrouded from view by trees and scattered with crows and old rubbish. A pipe was set into the ground, presumably to throw junk into the basement, and a large wooden cross was set on top of the building. Marisa swallowed and questioned whether this was such a good idea after all.

'Coming, Lila?' She asked, opening the door and jumping out onto the road. 'Or would you rather stay here?'

'I'll wait, thanks.'

Brilliant, she was on her own. Leaving the door open, Marisa walked around the front of the truck and off the road, keeping her eyes open for any sign of activity around the church. But the only things moving were the crows and the trees in a small breeze.

'Hello? Is there anyone here?' She called, walking slowly toward the building. 'Hello? I need help.' No reply came, so she picked up her pace slightly, eager to get this over and done with. Why did they have to be driving through Poho at _night_?

The crows watched her pass with black, glassy eyes. Marisa tried not to look at them, instead focusing on the church door she was heading for. Once she reached it she knocked clearly and winced at how loud it sounded in the otherwise silent night. Nothing. She turned to glance at Alison, who shrugged and put her feet up on the dashboard. Rolling her eyes, Marisa turned back and pushed the door, surprised when it opened freely.

The inside of the church wasn't any better than the outside - just one large, dusty room with too many shadows and not much furniture. A door was set to the left, presumably leading to the basement, but she walked right past it and up to a cluttered wooden table at the opposite end.

It was covered in various pieces of sharp weaponry, which did nothing to help her fears, and someone seemed to be halfway through carving a design into the wooden table top. Marisa squinted and leaned closer. It looked like a crude drawing of the winged monster that was hunting them - flying and chasing several rudimentary carvings of people. Screaming people. All manner of Celtic designs had been roughly sketched around it, but it did nothing to dull how horrible the scenes were. In another, the same monster was biting off a human's leg. Whoever lived here wasn't the kind of person she wanted to run into. Inhaling shakily, Marisa turned to leave... and froze on the spot.

It was right in front of her. Grinning nastily at her petrified expression, it reached forward and one claw gripped around her throat, almost crushing her windpipe. Gasping for air, Marisa scratched weakly at his arms.

'You think that will make any difference?' It sneered. In her surprise that it could speak, Marisa even stopped her attempts to get him to release her. Its voice was inhuman - very deep and rasping.

'Let me go!' She choked, finding her own voice. 'Alison!'

'Alison... the other girl? Hmm...'

It smirked and threw her to the floor. Marisa went to get back up again but found herself pinned between the floor and his body. It sniffed her face hungrily, obviously searching for anything it could eat. Eyes, nose, mouth, neck...

'And I see you found the other one. The living one... yes, I'll be finishing her off later.' It added between sniffs. It was now down to her arms, pinning her neck to the floor with one idle claw. If she hadn't been terrified Marisa would have been embarrassed at having someone/ thing she didn't know smelling her. _All_ of her.

'That was sick, what you did to her.' She snarled, thinking of the state Lila's eye was in.

'Tasted nice though.' It rasped, standing up and dragging her up by the hair. 'Now then...'

'Let her go!'

The Creeper turned around to face the door, pulling Marisa with him. Alison was stood in the doorway, holding a crowbar and glaring at the creature. Lila was behind her, clutching at her arm and looking absolutely horrified to be faced with the Creeper again.

'Or what, human?' It sneered. Marisa saw Alison's eyes widen as it spoke. 'You'll hit me with a flimsy piece of metal?'

'Flimsy my ass.' Alison muttered. 'I've seen flimsier cars.'

The Creeper smirked and pushed Marisa away, darting forward with surprising speed until it was facing Alison. She swung the crowbar and, by sheer luck, it connected with the creature's head and stopped it in its attack. Lila, apparently not wanting to be too close to the thing that took her eye, stumbled around it and over to Marisa, helping her to her feet.

The creature itself was standing still in front of Alison, who held the crowbar at the ready. A blink of red light caught Marisa's eye for a moment, and she looked around to see where it had come from while keeping one eye on the Creeper and Alison.

'There...' Lila whispered, pointing to the monster's arm. A small red dot was shaking on his arm - the laser sights on a rifle. Alison had noticed it too, and frowned curiously. Apparently noticing her expression, the Creeper looked down and spotted the laser, grimacing magnificently.

'Who the hell-?' Alison began, but before she could finish the air was filled with an ear-splitting bang.

The whole church started to collapse. Whatever had been fired, it was the final straw for the crumbling old building and the roof beams started snapping one by one, dropping down and bringing the rest of the structure with it. Acting on impulse, Marisa grabbed Lila and threw them both beneath the table, covering her head. She looked up in time to see one of the beams falling toward Alison. Surely it would crush her, and no matter how loud Marisa tried to yell at her to move, her voice was drowned out by the falling rubble. Then, miraculously, the Creeper appeared out of nowhere and pushed Alison out of the way.

They were both covered with falling pieces of debris and Marisa turned away, more concerned about the ominous cracks coming from the table. She wasn't sure how much more weight the thing could take before it caved in over them.

'Watch your head.' She mouthed to Lila, who nodded and wrapped her arms around her skull protectively. 'Oh shit-'

The table split in two, the heavy wood falling and colliding painfully with her head. Colourful dots appeared in front of her eyes and her vision blurred. She turned, managed to check that Lila was still alive and screaming before everything went black and she hit the floor.

Marisa opened her eyes and winced. Her head was thumping painfully and when she ran a finger over it there was a prominent bump where the table had hit.

'Oh good, you're awake... give me a hand with this, would you?'

Lila was lying beside her, using one of her hands to try and push the table and rubble off them. The other hand was clamped over her eye socket to stop dust getting in.

'Where's Alison?'

'Dunno - somewhere over there.' Lila shrugged, jerking a thumb behind them.

Marisa braced her arms and heaved the table up. It shifted, if only slightly, and allowed small pieces of rubble and wood splinters to rain down on them. Needless to say, they gave up on this approach.

'Shit - now what?'

'Not a clue... ALISON!' Marisa yelled, pounding her fist on the underside of the table. 'Alison!'

'Hold your bleeding horses woman, I can hear you.'

Marisa had never been happier to hear her friend's voice. 'Can you get us out, Al?' She called.

'Nope. Oi, come here and give me a hand with this table. Don't look at me like that, you can't eat her if she's trapped, can you?' Alison shouted from somewhere above them. After a long pause the table was torn off them and Marisa opened her eyes to find the Creeper standing over them.

'Aah, glorious sunshine.' She said sarcastically, sitting up and blinking dust out of her eyes. 'You alright, Lila?'

'Fine as I can be with one eye.'

'Good.' Marisa got to her feet and looked up at the monster, confused. 'Er... thanks.'

'I didn't save you to help you.' It snapped, turning away.

'Grumpy sod, isn't he?' Alison grinned, grabbing one of Lila's arms and heaving her upright. 'So who the flaming hell did this, then?'

'Someone after _him_.' Lila nodded to the Creeper's retreating back. 'They had rifle sights on him.'

'He saved you.' Marisa said quietly. Alison nodded.

'I know... weird, huh?'

'Yeah... do you think the sniper is still watching us?' Lila asked, looking fearfully to the fields across the road. There were plenty of trees for someone to hide in - maybe they _were_ still being watched.

'Well we're screwed now, we don't have a car.' Alison pointed out.

'Guess we'll have to walk back to Pertwilla.'

'Brilliant.'

'What about him?'

They turned to look at the Creeper, who was picking his way through the rubble and toward his basement.

'Maybe-'

Although what Alison was about to suggest, no-one found out, because a split-second later several black vans skidded to a halt around them and about twenty armed men jumped out, forming a circle around the fallen church. Alison raised an eyebrow.

'Where's the monster?'

The man facing them was apparently the leader; tall, slender and with spiked up grey hair. 'Where is the monster?' He repeated, looking at all three of their blank faces. No-one spoke. The man turned and nodded to the nearest van, out of which jumped another few armed men. They approached the three girls and went to take them by the arms. Alison punched the one nearest to her in the jaw and found the barrel of a gun in her face.

'Do as you're told and _come on_.'

'Why fucking should I?' Alison snapped, slapping the gun away. 'I didn't do shit!'

'Adrian, get them into the van now.' The leader ordered. Adrian was apparently the unfortunate receiver of Alison's punch, who straightened up and grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her back.

'Into the van. All of you!' He yelled, throwing her forward and sticking his gun in the back of her shoulder. Marisa took Lila's hand and the two hurried forward toward the nearest black van. 'Inside. Now!'

'Alright... don't wet yourself, will you.' Alison muttered, climbing inside and sitting on the bench. Marisa followed, watching through the door as the men spread out across the rubble to search for the Creeper.

'Think they'll find him?'

'I hope so.' Lila said bitterly. Alison glanced at her but didn't say anything. 'Then I can finally go home without fear of being eaten.'

'Where is your home?' Marisa asked curiously, wincing as the van door was slammed closed.

'Dakota. I was visiting my Grams in Pertwilla. She lives in this out-of-the-way house in the middle of some fields, complete with windmill and everything. Then one night these two people turn up - about my age - and bring the Creeper with them. I was watching them from my bedroom window when Grams shot it and it fell through the roof. It ate my eye and went away. Before I could get to the phone it came back - looked a right mess, I think they ran it over - and dragged me into the truck.'

Silence followed her story. Marisa knew that Alison would be thinking the same thing as she was - Trisha and Darry. They told the police that they had ran into some crazy woman in Pertwilla with a lot of cats. Apparently this 'crazy woman' was Lila's grandmother. That was the last time Marisa would laugh about it with her friends at school. If she ever _saw_ her friends again. Or her school. Hell, it'd even be nice to just see Pertwilla again. And how in God's name was she going to explain to Louise mom what had happened to her? Jesus that was gonna be bad...

'... Follows us and suddenly goes missing.'

Two men climbed into the front of the van, chuckling to each other. The driver gunned the engine and steered the vehicle onto the road, back in the direction that the girls' had been driving.

'Hey, where are you taking us!' Marisa shouted.

'Hate to tell you this, Peaches, but you're the bait for our little rat-hunt.' The passenger grinned, talking in a strong Texan accent. 'We're gonna drive you all the way to our HQ in Los Angeles. Then that monster'll come and getcha, and we can lock his ass up.'

'What makes you think he'll come and get us?' Lila asked defiantly. The man ran his eyes over her facial injuries and grinned.

'Cos this mother fucker don't leave his work unfinished. Drive, Caleb.'


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I realise I probably spelt Jezelle's name wrong... overlook it, if you can. If not, just review me and tell me what a pillock I am.

Disclaimer: You know I don't own anything.

Part Three

She was in a cornfield. A familiar cornfield... the familiarity clarified when she turned around and spotted the small white church behind her - still standing and looking rather... new.

Marisa frowned and looked down. She was still dressed in the same jeans and shirt that she had been wearing earlier in the van... van... van. She was asleep. She had been sat on the van floor beside Lila and she must have fallen asleep without realising how tired she was. So why was she back at the church?

'Because you're meant to be here.'

Marisa spun around and gasped. Standing in front of her, flickering in and out of view and smiling sympathetically, was Jezelle.

'Wha... um...' Marisa didn't even try to finish her sentence - she was wordless.

'What am I doing in your dream?' Jezelle offered with a chuckle. 'I'm not sure myself... this doesn't happen often. Perhaps it is a warning for you. I _have_ been seeing a lot of you in _my_ dreams lately.'

She started pacing up and down in front of Marisa - the corn simply moving aside to let her pass untouched. 'I believe it is a forewarning. I think it is telling you what is to come... and that you must do something about it.'

'Do something about what?' Marisa asked uneasily. Jezelle looked her directly in the eyes, smiling mysteriously.

'The Creeper.'

The scenery around them shifted, becoming a dark room. Marisa and Jezelle were stood in one corner, and to their right stood the Creeper before a barred window, holding a young man by the throat. Marisa couldn't see the boy's face but she recognised the bandaged hand and torn shirt - this was Darry Jenning. His sister was standing before him saying something... convincing the monster to take her instead. It was fruitless, a second later the Creeper crashed through the bars and flew off into the night, leaving Trisha screaming after her brother.

The landscape changed again, becoming a colossal oil rig. Darry was lying on the floor twisting and writhing - his mouth open in a scream as the Creeper bit out one of his eyeballs. Marisa winced, remembering the state Lila had been in when they found her, but it didn't look like the same situation would occur here. The Creeper took both eyeballs and then snapped the boy's neck - dragging him into the maze-like depths of the rig, presumably to finish his meal.

'Why are you showing me this?' Marisa asked, feeling nauseous.

'Why do you automatically assume it's _me_ showing you this, honey? I'm just following the program here.'

Before Marisa had a chance to reply the scene changed again, becoming a coach full of high school students. Her stomach tightened instantly - she remembered this. Several of the students were friends of hers, and the only reason _she_ hadn't been on the coach that day was that she was sick and couldn't cheer with them.

Minxie Hayes was sat to her left, presumably asleep. Minxie and Marisa had never really got along - Minxie was always too much of a back-stabber for Marisa to want to be acquainted, but she _had_ been good friends with Alison. Until the incident on the bus.

Minxie wouldn't tell anyone anything about what had happened, and became completely paranoid about everything. She even accused Alison of things... horrible things. Eventually the two ended up in a fight and refused to speak to each other unless it was to argue - usually resulting in the both of them being split up by Marisa or Rhonda Truitt. Rhonda was Minxie's friend and Alison's arch-enemy. It was a long and complicated story and before Marisa could even bother thinking about it, the bus came to a skidding halt at the side of the road and she was thrown sideways. Jezelle, somehow, remained standing.

'Watch yourself honey, you aren't as invincible as me.'

'Thanks.' Marisa muttered, steadying herself on the seat and grimacing as the scenery changed again. It was starting to give her a headache.

They were still on the bus in the same place, but all of the soccer players and cheerleaders were standing in the aisle facing them, terror plastered across their features. Knowing what she would see, Marisa turned around and was faced by the Creeper, standing in front of the window and sniffing at the students. De ja vu.

'Why am I seeing all of this?' She hissed to Jezelle, who seemed to be making herself comfortable on one of the front seats.

'Not a clue, honey, just make yourself comfortable.'

Sitting on the edge of the nearest seat, Marisa watched the Creeper judge all of the students. A jerk of the head, she assumed, meant for them to move - they were safe for the time being - and a grin or wink meant... well, they definitely _weren't_ safe.

'I still don't see the point in showing me this... I know what this thing can do. It ate Ben, remember?'

'Okay honey...' Jezelle got to her feet and the scenery altered again, becoming the corn field. 'You've seen what this thing does to innocent people... doesn't that make you mad?'

'Um... sure... yeah.'

'Don't you want to do something about it?'

Marisa was now confused - what was the old woman getting at? What could she, a soon-to-be victim of the monster, do about it? She didn't like the direction their conversation was going in, and could only pray that Alison would wake her up some time soon. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean, wouldn't you like to end its killing spree?'

'Er... you mean kill it? But... Minxie said it couldn't die.' Marisa frowned, looking around doubtfully.

'Minxie? The blonde that has one dream and thinks she knows everything about this creature?' Jezelle laughed scornfully - apparently she wasn't Minxie's biggest fan. 'What the hell would she know? I've seen things in my time that would make her hair curl.'

'So... so it can be killed?'

'Of course it can, everything can be killed. Here, let me show you.'

Jezelle took her hand and turned her around so that they were both facing the church. A figure flitted in front of it, shooting backward and forward at an alarming speed. When Marisa focused on it she saw that it was a priest in what appeared to be ancient robes and an old leather apron, moving backward across the church yard... then it clicked. It was like time was rewinding in front of her. To prove this theory, the man stopped and retraced his previous steps at a normal speed, carrying large chunks of metal to and from the white building.

'What's he doing?' Marisa asked quietly, watching the priest with intrigue.

'Watch.'

The man threw the armful down the top of an old pipe... the pipe that led into the basement, Marisa realised. She wondered whether the Creeper was down there and whether the priest even knew the creature existed at the same time.

'C'mon honey.' Jezelle pulled her forward and they followed the man round the back of the church. A wooden trapdoor was set into the ground, and it was this that he pulled up by a rope handle. Looking around as though to make sure no-one was watching, he jogged down and slammed it over his head. Jezelle reached down and began to follow him down the dark, narrow, stone staircase - indicating that Marisa should follow her. Perplexed, the girl did.

It led into a dark, muddy room - colossally sized and apparently being used as a blacksmith's forge. The priest was at the other side of the room stoking a glaring fire with a poker.

'What's he doing?'

'Watch and see - you ask too many damn questions, girl.'

Reaching across and pulling on a thick glove, the priest stretched forward into the fire - coming back up with a crudely fashioned sword blade in his grasp. He carried it to a nearby anvil and started hitting it with a sledgehammer. Marisa raised an eyebrow. She was about to query about his actions to Jezelle when she remembered that of all the questions she had asked during her dream, the old woman had answered maybe one.

'He's making a sword, before you ask.'

'I'd gathered.'

The man sped up again, flitting around the forge so fast that he became a blur before stopping over at the fire again at what must have been hours later. He was gazing in awe and triumph at the completed weapon. Marisa looked at it herself and frowned - the edges seemed to glow blue...

'And there we have the first complete blade.' Jezelle said needlessly. 'Created by Vicar Arnold Whittaker. Who incidentally died ten minutes later.'

'What's the blade for? And why are the edges glowing!'

'It's a Blueblade, created with one purpose in mind.'

'And what purpose is that?' Did she really need to ask? It was written all over Jezelle's face.

'To kill the Creeper.'

'And... what happened to it after the Vicar died?'

'His son found it amongst his possessions, along with a note on what to do with it. The boy made more weapons like it and went after the monster with a lynch mob. Poor souls,' the woman shook her head sadly. 'Dead... all of them. He killed every single one of them.'

'But... why did it save Alison?' Marisa pondered, thoughtfully.

'Because it wants her in good condition when he eats her.'

'He could have eaten her... he could have eaten her and then taken us, but he didn't. He walked off.' Marisa looked at the empty basement and wondered what it looked like now. Strewn with bodies, no doubt. 'Why did he do that?'

'Think of all the other people he has killed! He probably wasn't hungry enough for you yet.' Jezelle was sounding increasingly annoyed that Marisa wasn't as furious with the monster as she was. 'Do you know what this basement looks like now? Like this!'

It was horrific. Bodies _covered_ the filthy walls - naked, preserved and sewn together in a sick tapestry. The more prominent was one lying on the table facing the opposite way, mousy brown hair matted and bloodstained. Wait... mousy brown... hole in her stomach. Marisa turned around and retched on the floor, mildly surprised that she could actually vomit in a dream. The situation was getting weirder by the second.

'Oh god... Louise...'

'You had to see...' Jezelle said sadly, squeezing her shoulder. 'You had to see what this thing does.'

'Oh god... wake me up... get me out of here...'

'In time... first you need to make me a promise, Marisa Williams.'

Jezelle pulled her to her feet and held her steady. 'Promise me that you will find the only remaining Blueblade and _kill_ this thing, so it can do no more harm.'

'Where is the blade?' Right now she was too upset to argue with the woman - she would worry about the damned monster when she woke up.

'Find Robin Whittaker. He's in Los Angeles, so you shouldn't have a problem. Oh, and Marisa? Don't tell Alison about any of this... or the other one. They will hinder what you must do.'

Marisa tuned out and clamped her eyes shut; praying that the nightmare would end and she could get out of the basement. She wouldn't mind even having to be faced with Caleb and his friend and the dingy back of the van.

'Wake up!'

Marisa opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying on the van floor, head throbbing madly and Alison standing over her wearing an amused expression.

'It's about time, lazy arse.' Lila grinned, clutching a dirty cloth to her bloody eye socket. 'You've been thrashing and yelling like mad.'

'What did I yell?' Marisa asked carefully, taking Alison's outstretched arm and pulling herself up.

'Not much coherent.' Lila shrugged. 'Mostly wake me up, or get me out of here. Dream anything nice?'

'No... nightmare about the monster.'

'I could have guessed.' Alison chuckled, sitting down beside her and shooting a glare at the partition, behind which Caleb and friend's voices could be heard laughing. 'Gits.'

'He hit her with his gun.' Lila grinned again at the expression on Alison's face. 'Because she called him a fuckwit.'

Marisa gave a small smile and shook her head. 'How long until we get to LA?'

'Dunno where we are.' They shrugged.

The van jerked on a pothole and Marisa winced as she was knocked sideways. The monster could turn up at any moment and finish them off... was it possible for her to kill it with an ancient weapon that may not even exist? Did she _want_ to kill it? It _had_ saved Alison... but then again, Jezelle had said it had done that so she was fresh for him to eat later on, when it got hungry.

But Jezelle had worried Marisa. The old woman had seemed far too keen on getting Marisa on her side - on a side where her opinion had to be that the monster needed to die. Immediately. Of course, the girl wasn't completely _against_ this option; she just wasn't the kind of person that slaughtered something she knew very little about. Even if it _did_ want to kill her.


End file.
